And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.

After David’s victory over Goliath and the Philistines the fame of this young shepherd boy started to spread. God had done, and would do a marvelous work through David, a young man that was totally committed to doing the will of God.

Israel’s King Saul had been there to watch the Lord using this shepherd boy to defend the children of Israel, and it was as if he was helpless to fulfill the leadership roll as the first king of the Jewish people.

The facts are that King Saul had not done that which the Lord had commanded him to do, kill all the Amalekites, including their king Agag, our key verses in our devotional for today. There are consequences for not being obedient.

With the fame of David and the Lord bringing judgment upon King Saul he moved farther away from doing the will of God and even started working against the Lord’s will. I Samuel 18 to 27 reveal the record of how that part of the story played out.

As we come to I Samuel 28 we see the result of both "disobedience" and "obedience". God takes the leadership role of Saul and gives it to David, verses 17 and 18. However, there is more to the story of Saul and his relationship with the Lord.

King Saul, the first king of Israel, consulted with the Witch of Endor, a satanically possessed woman. Because of that encounter, the Lord withdrew from King Saul and would not answer him.

The influence of the Devil has been present since the "fall of man" in Genesis 3. The Devil has in the past sent evil angels in the form of demons and witches into the world to cause havoc.

At the first coming of Jesus Christ there was much demonic activity that Jesus would confront. Demonic activity will be prevalent at the time of His second coming, and more so as we draw nearer to the coming of the Lord, Matthew 24:4-5, 11 & 24. In fact, demonic deception was the first indication that Jesus said would signal His Second Coming.

The last days are quickly approaching, I Timothy 4:1-2. As we understand these truths we can see just how close we may well be to His return. This knowledge also alerts us to the way to stand against this Satanic activity, James 4:7.

But please notice our key verses for today, verses 17 and 18. The Lord took the kingdom from King Saul and gave it to David because Saul had failed to follow the command of the Lord to destroy the Amalekites, I Samuel 15.

By the way, the problems that Israel has today with the Palestinian people are due to the fact that King Saul did not obey the Lord. You see the Palestinian people of today are the Amalekites of yesterday.

The scenario found in our devotional reading for today is very similar to the scenario of what will happen in the last days leading up to the Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Actually, the Rapture is the next thing to happen on God’s time clock of Bible prophecy and there are no prophecies to be fulfilled before the Rapture, it could happen at any moment, perhaps today.

PRAYER THOT: Dear Lord help me to be obedient to you, no matter what your will for me might be.